Oranjezicht Higgovale Neighbourhood Watch Feasibility of establishing the OH SRA

1. Oranjezicht Higgovale Neighbourhood WatchFeasibility of establishing the OH SRA 28 September 2010 Watchful Eyes, Safer Streets

2. Would you like to live in a neighbourhood where you could: Feel safe in your own home and enjoy safer streets? Appreciate clean pavements? Feel secure because of effective street lighting? Leave your vehicle parked in the street and find that it had not been broken into? Drive on roads without potholes and with effective signage? Relax in parks that are maintained and safe? Admire the landscaping of public spaces and the trees? Support unemployed people? Get pleasure from communal events?

3. What we want to achieve tonight Five main objectives: SRA concept test, early engagement with property owners an important first step in the process 2 Review what an SRA is 3 Understand the benefits to property owners 4 Table the costs to property owners 5 Critical dates, process and timeline

4. A few key points before we start Our property values in this area are valued at R7.6 billion Our area currently pays over R41 million in rates per annum. That is an investment that we need to look after and ensure that as much as possible of it is spent enhancing this area. Currently no-one is making sure that we get the best possible service for what we pay. OH Watch is a voluntary organisation that was set up to look after neighbourhood safety issues in partnership with SAPS and other role-players. OH Watch is doing a good job, but it cannot be expected to sustain this level of work and there are many issues that it is not tackling.

5. Who is behind the campaign to establish the OH SRA? The campaign to establish a SRA is currently being conducted by a Steering Committee of 4 members of the OH Watch Exco all local residents working on a voluntary basis. Sheryl Ozinsky Peter Stenslunde Amanda Kottler Butch Rice

6. Who is behind the campaign to establish the OH SRA? Specialist CID/SRA Consultant Gene Lohrentz

7. What is a Special Ratings Area (SRA or CID) An SRA (Section 21 Company) provides top-up services (security, cleansing and urban mngt) to those provided currently by SAPS and the City of Cape Town A statutory body established under the SRA by-law (Provincial Gazette 6651/2009) previously known as a City Improvement District (CID) Funded by a levy collected from rate payers by the City and paid over to the SRA management board Funds raised are dedicated to improving services (security, cleaning, urban upgrades) exclusively within the SRA Cape Town has 22 CIDs in operation, and 40 more interested communities have expressed interest to form SRA’s.

8. Why OH Watch feels that an SRA is necessary That the cost of providing supplementary and additional services is equitably borne by all property owners in the area That costs are borne in proportion to the municipal valuation of the property.

9. Crime Stats OH Watch Area Many of these incidents happen in the public domain February 2009 - August 2010 = 18 months Type of Crime Number of Incidents Theft out of Motor Vehicle 337 Break in Residential 158 Robbery 71 Theft of Motor Vehicle 51 Break in Business 9 Drug Related 7 Robbery/Stabbing 1__ Total incidents: 634 (> 1 incident per day) Do we have a problem?

10. Streets with more than 5 incidents over the period Street Number of Incidents Mill 27 Hof 16 Kloof 15 Vriende 14 Breda 11 Union 9 Buitenkant 7 Camp 7 Flower 7 Myrtle 7 Sir George Grey 7 Belvedere 6 Wandel 6 Hot Spots

11. Do we have a problem? 1. Street Cleaning. We need supplemental cleaning, including street sweeping, drain cleaning, removal of graffiti, litter removal, control of dumping and enforcing compliance with dumping By-Laws 2. Street Lighting. We have no-one monitoring our street lighting in terms of maintenance or repair – some are rusted from top to bottom. We have lights outside Gardens Centre that have been reported 6 times but not fixed; 3. Road Repair and Signage. We have n0- one monitoring our roads - potholes are on the increase as roads deteriorate. We have no-one monitoring road marking signs. We have no-one replacing missing drain hole covers.

12. Do we have a problem? 4. Social. No-one to develop a cohesive strategy for addressing homelessness and the regulation of it in conjunction with Council. 5. Law Enforcement. We have no Law Enforcement in the area, in terms of City Bylaws. Homeless people use De Waal, Van Riebeeck and Homestead Parks as their personal latrines; 6. We have no Metro/Traffic Police to patrol our area for dumped cars, unlicensed cars, taxis parked on pavements/un-roadworthy vehicles and so on; 7. We have no budget for traffic control measures like speed humps on Montrose; 8. We have no-one doing vegetation clearing of potentially dangerous hiding spots for criminals, removal of un-authorised posters and stickers

13. Do we have a problem? 9. We have no budget to repair De Waal Park Road, no budget to secure Homestead Park with fencing and so on. No-one attending to landscaping and gardening of communal areas. 11. Marketing. No-one to develop a close and mutually beneficial working relationship with the City Council, ratepayers association, SAPS, Metro Police, the CPF, private security service providers, neighbourhood watches, community leaders, churches and schools, and the CID community at large.

14. “It must be a small amount - we are paying income tax and rates and any additional levy is really a charge for something which should be covered” Opinion Poll May 2010 “General street cleaning is poor particularly in the little park in Rosemount Ave. The residents try - The pedestrian lane and steps between Sir George Grey and Rosemount are often fairly disgusting” “We need to make sure that we have better control of the resources that we pay the City i.e. rates and taxes. At present I feel that not enough of this is spent in the area I live in, especially as it relates to safety and security” “As we both live and work in the area we would be very happy to contribute towards dropping crime and making it a safer area for all to enjoy”

15. Opinion Poll “Provided the SRA is well run and focused. I sometimes feel guilty that I strive for a neighbourhood that is perfectly safe and clean, and full of trees, and nice street furniture, in a country where homelessness and poverty is so prevalent. How can I complain about a streetlight not working, when some areas have no running water? But then I think that if I am paying rates, should I not expect the highest level of service as I would do from any service provider that I am paying to do a job. And the answer is a resounding yes. I feel that an SRA is the way forward as it seems that affluent neighbourhoods will need to look after their own interests more and more and importantly keep the council accountable for the minimum service that they agree to provide”

16. OH Watch Road Surface Repair Assessment

17. OH Watch Road Markings Assessment

18. OH Watch Faulty Street Lighting Report

19. Why is the City not providing the services we want? According to the SA Constitution (Sections 152 & 153), the objective of a local authority is to provide all its residents with certain basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal, etc - up to an equitable standard. For communities who wish to enjoy municipal services of a higher level, an SRA provides them with the option of paying for these additional services, which should be affordable and sustainable.

20. The Proposed OH SRA Boundary • Northern Boundary: • Bridle Road, Rugby Road, Molteno Road, Glencoe to Higgo and Trek Roads extending to Kloof Nek Road • Southern Boundary: • Along Mill Street to Upper Wandel Street • Eastern Boundary: • Kloof Nek Road up until Bellevue Road, into Hof Street, Rayden Road, Camp and Hof Streets • Western Boundary: • Upper Buitenkant, Myrtle, Schoonder, Gorge Road, Sidmouth Avenue

21. The SRA Boundary

22. When is this all happening? 22 February 2011 End April 2011 Phase 1: April 2010 – 28 September 2010

23. When is this all happening? Phase 2: 20 January 2011 – 31 October 2011

24. When is this all happening? Phase 1: April 2010 – 28 September 2010 Phase 3: 31 October 2011 – 01 July 2012

25. What the levy will buy you Security Law Enforcement A dedicated City of Cape Town Law Enforcement Officer 5 days a week with powers of arrest and ability to issue fines on all city by-laws • 2 x shift managers • 2 x shift manager vehicles • 3 patrol vehicles • 9 foot patrol officers on foot (27 shifts) • Digital radios for all vehicles and patrol officers

26. What the levy will buy you Cleansing Urban Management 35 Straatwerk shifts (140 hours) per month for cleaning parks, grass cutting, gardening, etc Social Responsibility A social fieldworker contracted from one of the local NGO’s to work in the area • 10 Street sweepers deployed 5 days a week to clean the streets and pavements • Includes a daily waste bag collection service

27. Proposed OH CID/SRA Budget

28. Question: Do you support the establishment of the OH SRA? Raise your hand for yes